The post-Marvin-White era began Feb. 20 for the county industrial development authority (IDA), which held its first meeting without the long-time director.
The group discussed filling White’s position, altering how it reviews its financial information, refurbishing an out-of-service well and delivering water to a planned power plant on Hwy. 72 in Colbert.
Besides White, there was another vacancy at the table. Long-time authority member Gerry Burdette resigned from the IDA following the meeting in which the authority eliminated funding for White’s position. BOC chairman John Scarborough, who also serves as an IDA member, suggested that the authority consider providing a name to the BOC to consider for the vacant IDA position. The county commissioners appoint members of the industrial authority.
With Burdette’s resignation, the treasurer’s post was vacated. The IDA voted Monday to the name Josh Chandler to position. Chandler and other members also discussed finances at some length Monday. Authority members have said they haven’t had a firm grasp on the group’s financial outlook. They’re aiming to change that. Authority chairman Bruce Azevedo has been overseeing many of White’s duties until a new director is hired. Azevedo met with the group’s accountant and is working on getting clearer financial reports for authority members. He said the current financials are hard to read and understand and don’t provide a good picture of transfers and cash flow.
“We want it to be really easy to see the IDA financial situation at any given moment without having to call the accountant,” said Azevedo. “If we straighten this out, we’ll save money, because there will be less for the accountant to do for us.”
Chandler said the budget has “been too skeleton” and that the group needs more details to function properly.
The authority has yet to advertise to fill White’s position. In fact, the group plans to hold more discussions on what exactly they expect from a director.
“We don’t want to hire anyone until we feel whoever we hire is doing what the board wants, not creating stuff,” said Azevedo, adding that the group will likely put restrictions on what the next IDA director can do with transfers.
Chandler said he wants an “atmosphere of accountability.”

“But we need clearly defined expectations,” he said.
Azevedo said the IDA needs to look for financial efficiency wherever it can find it. He and utility director Steve Shaw told authority members about a dormant county-owned well at Spratlin Pond that has a high iron content but a water yield of roughly 300 gallons per minute. The estimated cost of refurbishing the well and including a chlorination treatment system is $90,000. Azevedo said the IDA budgets $180,000 for purchasing water from out of the county. The group has contracts with Commerce and Franklin County. He said Madison County will save money in the long run by investing in another water source within the county and reducing its dependence on water purchased from outside the county. The group agreed to move forward with the refurbishing project.
“I’m in favor of getting it fixed and operational,” said Azevedo. “We need to get it going again.”
In a separate matter, Azevedo, Scarborough and IDA attorney Victor Johnson talked about a recent meeting with representative of Georgia Renewable Power (GRP), which is planning a 58-megawatt renewable energy plant at the site of the old Trus Joist wood plant off Hwy. 72 in Colbert. The facility will burn chipped wood to generate power and be tied to the Georgia Power electrical grid. The plant is scheduled to be operational by June 1, 2019. It will generate an estimated $1 million in local tax revenue. The IDA is planning to run a line from Elbert County down Hwy. 72 to the facility, which will have water tanks on site and use between one million to 1.3 million gallons of water a day. The IDA does not have the approximate $4 million on hand to pay for that line. The group is seeking grant funds, but GRP may also provide money for the line, which could be paid back by the county, in order to get it installed within the company’s needed timeframe. The line from Elbert County will be owned by Madison County and could serve other developments, too. The IDA and the power company are working on a “memorandum of understanding” which spells out expectations. Azevedo said the IDA is still waiting on a clear schedule from the company regarding what they need. A primary concern for the IDA is being left on the hook for expenses of the water line from Elbert County to the plant if the business fails in some way. The IDA is seeking a bond arrangement with the company that will insure the county against such a catastrophic loss. This is seen as a must-have for the county to be involved in bringing water to the business.

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